Lawmakers Seek Accountability for Vikings Stadium Profits

Updated: 10/21/2013 7:53 AM KSTP.com
By: Jay Kolls

Two lawmakers want to make sure money coming into the new Vikings stadium is re-invested in the facility.

State Representative Mary Liz Holberg, (R) Lakeville, plans on introducing a bill in the next legislative session that she says will make it more clear where all the profits from events at the new stadium are going.

Holberg says the current stadium law does not adequately clarify where all the profits from NFL games, truck shows, concerts and other events are being spent and whether it is open information to the public. Holberg wants to make sure "the profits from stadium events go back into operating expenses and maintenance costs for the future."

Now, State Representative Joe Atkins, (DFL) Inver Grove Heights, says he is intrigued by Holberg's bill. Atkins sits on the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Facilities (LCMF). He wants Holberg's bill discussed and possibly voted on at the next LCMF meeting this Thursday.

Atkins says, "It is important to make sure the revenue streams are all accounted for and we know where the money is spent because there is a chance the lease for the new facility could be negotiated several times, if there are ever new owners for the Vikings." Atkins has asked that Holberg's bill be placed on the LCMF agenda and acted upon.

If it is acted upon, the LCMF would probably consider a vote to either recommend, or not recommend, passage of Holberg's bill in the upcoming Legislative session. And that is all it would be - a recommendation. The vote would not have any binding authority.

But, Representative Atkins tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, "I would hope the governor and the Legislature would take very seriously any recommendation from the LCMF because we were appointed to oversee the new stadium and how the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority spends taxpayers' money on the project."